‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Sinks More than It Floats

December 14, 2022January 3, 2023 Swara Salih

When James Cameron’s Avatar premiered in 2009, it represented a landmark moment in visual effects for film. Cameron made some of the most effective use of CGI and motion-capture performances since Andy Serkis’ brilliant portrayal of Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Na’vi, as alien and as CGI as they were, felt real to audiences as their animation took realistic form, as did the stunningly beautiful planet of Pandora. But while these visual effects were a spectacle, the story itself, while moving at times, was simplistic and derivative of other films in the realm of colonists and Indigenous peoples.

Conventions, Movies

D23Expo: New Footage from ‘Avatar’ Panel Shows Us the Way of Cameron

September 11, 2022September 11, 2022 Mike Manalo

What was anticipated to be a gigantic, epic day of announcements at the D23 Expo ended on an unexpectedly more quiet note, as audiences took in footage from what many consider to be the year’s most anticipated film, Avatar: The Way of Water.

Movies, Sci Fi

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Trailer Teases James Cameron’s Long-Awaited Sequel

May 9, 2022 Michael Lee

It’s been nearly 13 years since James Cameron’s Avatar took audiences on a trip to the unbelievable world of Pandora. Drawing from films like Dances with Wolves and Ferngully, the blockbuster went on to be one of the highest grossing films by earning over $2.8 million at the box office. Now, after years of delays, we are getting a first look at one the four sequels set to debut this year. That’s because 20^th Century Studios has released the first trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water.

Horror, Movies, Reviews

NOC Review: ‘Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep’ Shines Bright!

October 30, 2019October 31, 2019 Mike Manalo

Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining is largely seen as one of the greatest horror films ever put to screen. It’s also definitely my second favorite horror film of all time. So as a fan, I firmly believe, by and large, that as a property I hold in such high regard, it should not be franchised, sequel-ized, rebooted, or remade in any way, shape, or form… unless talented filmmaker, Mike Flanagan (Gerald’s Game, Haunting of Hill House) is doing it (or to a lesser degree, Spielberg is paying homage to it)!

Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep’ Shines Bright!”

Conventions, Television12 Comments

Is AMC Finally Embracing Diversity This Fall?

July 16, 2015September 25, 2015 Keith Chow

It’s hard to believe it’s already been a week since Comic-Con started, but here we are in that post-Con daze, and I’m still recovering. While I might need some more time before getting back into regularly scheduled posting, I didn’t want to leave before I comment on a couple of the trailers that came out of SDCC. No, not this one or that one. Instead, I want to focus on the early looks that came out of the AMC presentations and how the network is kicking off the post-Don Draper era by seemingly embracing diversity in the casts of its newest shows.

Continue reading “Is AMC Finally Embracing Diversity This Fall?”